Afghanistan's draft media law slowed, but not stopped

For now, the Afghan government's apparent attempt at
railroading through a less-than-media-friendly new Mass Media Law without
consultation seems to have been sidelined, though not derailed. On Sunday in
Kabul, representatives of the Ministry of Information and Culture received
recommendations from civil society workers and journalists, including some
from the provinces, which were drawn up at a June 27 meeting organized by Internews's Nai
Media Institute in Afghanistan.

The document included 19 specific proposals to the law's 54
articles. You can access a PDF of the proposed changes here.

The greatest concern
in the media community was initially that the government had not allowed
any time for exactly such input before putting the bill in front of the
legislature for debate. It isn't clear
if that was a purposeful decision or an oversight due to political ineptitude
on the government's part--theories vary depending on who you talk to in Kabul.

After we raised
this in a blog post, Lotfullah Najafizadah, head of current affairs at Afghanistan's
largest news operation Tolo News, messaged
to add Tolo's concerns about the proposed law. He noted that, as it is written,
the Media Supreme Council that would set editorial policy would be chaired by
the Minister of Information and Culture, an alarming direction that would let
the government restrict media activities, especially those of news channels.

The draft would also restrict the ability of media to debate
or report on areas such as national security and religion; these rules are vague,
Najafizadah says, and he worries that the government could hand down punishment
for any report or talk show which it might not like, using national security as
an excuse.

Before the international donors' conference earlier this
month, I had called on Afghan journalists and media support groups attending
the meeting in Tokyo to pressure governments to commit support for Afghan media
as 2014 approaches, with its withdrawal of NATO troops and potential political
instability. As many Afghan media organizations and their international
supporters have pointed out, much of the country's vibrant press will face a
crisis of survival if it doesn't continue receiving foreign support. But Human
Rights Watch's Kabul-based researcher Heather Barr was in Tokyo, and she said that
only Finland's delegation apparently raised the media issue there.

Barr also raised concerns that the law might be passed as
is, without incorporating the journalists' recommendations. "Given that it's
being championed by the president's chief of staff, I worry that we could see
it passed overnight by presidential decree while Parliament is in recess. So I
hope we can keep the pressure on," Barr told me in an email.

Not a bad suggestion. Despite the input of some Afghan
journalists, it's not time to lose sight of the fact that Afghans might well be
facing new, harsher restrictions on the press.

Bob Dietz, coordinator of CPJ’s Asia Program, has reported across the continent for news outlets such as CNN and Asiaweek. He has led numerous CPJ missions, including ones to Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka. Follow him on Twitter @cpjasia and Facebook @ CPJ Asia Desk.

Comments

I read your article on Afghan media law and I would like to thank you personally on this. It is very good to have such articles with references you have given. It indeed would help on the process of advocacy for freedom of expression in Afghanistan.
I also read good suggestions through this article from Barr, and I do agree of continuation of pressure on government, but I think amendment of a law as you are on the picture has its own process and not possible to be done overnight, unless the president ignore and step on the country constitution and the other related legal documents.
Moreover, during the handing over of the recommendations, the deputy minister of information assured media that the recommendations will be considered during the process of legislation. Although it is not enough but I think saying this in front of the media, indeed directly shows and/or creates comments of the Afghanistan government to consider media community’s recommendations. And, moreover it twice announced by the deputy minister of Information and Culture publicly that the ministry’s draft is not being processed.

At the end, I was wondering if it is possible to consider some minor thing on the article followings:
1. In your article you wrote that “Internews's Nai Media Institute in Afghanistan. ” Nai Supporting Open Media in Afghanistan is an independent Afghan entity, although Internews is funding Nai as it does other organizations such as Pazhwok Afghan News. Nai is having a close relationship with Internews and even established by Internews’s generous support in 2005, but does not belong to Internews. Furthermore, Nai is a full member of Internews International which is a France based media development network organization. http://www.internews.tv/contacts/members.php
2. Nai Media Institute is a department of Nai SOMA, and is a training institute of Nai, as the advocacy is a department of it. I am sure your know that Nai is mainly focusing on media through two different but relevant series of activities, the capacity building which Nai’s training department and Nai’s institute are performing it and the advocacy that Nai’s Media Watch is performing. So generally what each department is performing is Nai’s activity.
3. The recommendations that have been submitted to the ministry was an outcome of the national conference that Nai conducted on July 27th with the representatives of all media associations and unions, all, and representatives from media outlets from 6 zones of the country, north, south, east, west, central and Kabul.

I would like to availing myself of this opportunity to thanks again for your article and your efforts toward freedom of expression and free media in Afghanistan and worldwide.